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The QC, Vol. 90, No. 07 • October 16, 2003

2003_10_16_001

The Voice Of Whittier College Since 1914
October 16,2003
OUAFrofAMPTN
?mj/ V_yx m l\ I a J-1^ *—>-i- SlJL JLjL V_y \*J
http://web.whittier.edu/qc
Caceres returns from serving military in Iraq
Brycie Jonesand Linzi Juliano
QCAssistantNewsEdrtorandQCStaffWriter
Senior Sgt. Raquel Caceres returned
from a five-and-a-half month military service in Iraq late this September. Caceres,
who served as a transport management coordinator in unit 555 T.C. Detachment while
in service, was called up to serve in early
2003, a few months before she was due to
graduate.
"It's a lot of adjustment to come back to
friends and school [after service in the
war], especially since I didn't get to start
the [fall] semester," Caceres said. "It's like
summer camp—you go away, you come
back and everyone's lives have changed.
You leave everything behind and you forget everything is still going."
Caceres spent her service in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and at the United States
embassy in Jordan. Her job, which included managing the movement of troops and
getting supplies out of U.S. customs in
Jordan, placed her above several other soldiers, including men and those who were
older than her.
"The gender thing didn't make much
difference with other soldiers, but some
people of Jordan found it difficult to understand that they had to go through me to get
things done, instead of the two men underneath me," Caceres said. "As for age, I was
21 when I was over there and it's hard when
you're in charge of people who are 25. But
you're in uniform and you have your rank
and that's what flies."
Caceres described some of her experiences overseas as "interesting," including
when she met Secretary of State Colin
Powell and Army General Tommy Franks
while at the embassy in Jordan. Other experiences she described as "miserable": "Peo
ple complain about going down the hall to
go to the bathroom here [at Whittier], but I
would have to walk a half a mile just to take
a shower or take a bus in order to have
access to running water."
While in action, Caceres received several letters from high schoolers across the
nation. According to Caceres, the high
school students were particularly interested in her thoughts on anti-war protesters.
"To answer [the letters] I would say, you
should be able to fight for the freedom of
speech and that I will never be ashamed or
disappointed that I did. [The soldiers] are at
such a low level in terms of what happens,
but we are happy to be there. As much as it
sucks over there—the heat, the water that's
so black you can't wash your clothes—
when we come home, very few people will
"say they regret being there," Caceres said.
"The [Iraqi] people were so happy to see us
and we had so much support that you can't
even realize."
Caceres said the letters she received
from friends and family "reminded me of
all the great things I was missing out on,
like [The Thalian Society] winning Spring
Sing and being nervous about graduation. I
wouldn' t have changed [serving in the war],
but I would have rather gone after graduation."
Caceres will resume attendance at
Whittier College after fall semester. She
plans to graduate with a degree in political
science by the end of the 2004 fall semester.
Caceres left active service due to a
medical emergency. While Caceres confirmed she was not shot or hurt, she declined to state the nature of the emergency.
PHOTCCCXJFnESYOFRAQUELGACERES
Senior Raquel Caceres while serving overseas during the war in Iraq.
Publication board appoints two
GenevieveRoman
QCAssistantNewsEditor
fHlll
HELENANQCVClCmCTOEDlfoR'
Publications Board Representative and Vice-Chair senior Michelle Vincent
and Publications Board Chair senior Toniesha Webb.
Senior Michelle Vincent, Publications
Board's newly elected vice-chair, ran the
meeting Friday, Oct. 10, during which the
board allocated a total of $55,787 to Whittier
College publications and filled two Member-
at-Large positions. The budget for this year
includes $13,892 for KPOET; $19,244 for
the Quaker Campus; and $22,651 for the
Acropolis.
Senior Toniesha Webb, who was elected
Chair last Friday, said, "I hope to help increase the dialogue on campus, and it's also
important to me to make sure that more
people know the role of Pub. Board and what
we do." And Vincent, who was also elected
Publications Board representative to COR
said, "Basically, it's my last year here and I
really wanted to be involved with the school
and help start new programs." Both of these
elections were approved at the COR meeting
that took place Monday, Oct. 13. There are
still two vacancies for Member-at-Large Positions on Publications Board.
The Acropolis will use about $19,000 of
its $22,651 on printing costs, according to
junior editor of the Acropolis Fallon Shelly,
and the remainder will go toward "printing,
film purchasing and development and new
See PUBLIC A TIONS BOARD, page 6
AOKP is A-OK
Remember that nightmare about the
medieval guys with swords and funny
hats gallavanting outside under dim
light? That wasn't a dream.
Campus Life, Page8
Reviews!
Didn't see it? We
did. And then we
wrote about it. You
can thank us later.
A&E,Page11
Women's Soccer
The women's soccer team is
ranked third in SCIAC after
losing to the University of
Redlands in overtime.
Sports, Page 16

The Voice Of Whittier College Since 1914
October 16,2003
OUAFrofAMPTN
?mj/ V_yx m l\ I a J-1^ *—>-i- SlJL JLjL V_y \*J
http://web.whittier.edu/qc
Caceres returns from serving military in Iraq
Brycie Jonesand Linzi Juliano
QCAssistantNewsEdrtorandQCStaffWriter
Senior Sgt. Raquel Caceres returned
from a five-and-a-half month military service in Iraq late this September. Caceres,
who served as a transport management coordinator in unit 555 T.C. Detachment while
in service, was called up to serve in early
2003, a few months before she was due to
graduate.
"It's a lot of adjustment to come back to
friends and school [after service in the
war], especially since I didn't get to start
the [fall] semester," Caceres said. "It's like
summer camp—you go away, you come
back and everyone's lives have changed.
You leave everything behind and you forget everything is still going."
Caceres spent her service in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and at the United States
embassy in Jordan. Her job, which included managing the movement of troops and
getting supplies out of U.S. customs in
Jordan, placed her above several other soldiers, including men and those who were
older than her.
"The gender thing didn't make much
difference with other soldiers, but some
people of Jordan found it difficult to understand that they had to go through me to get
things done, instead of the two men underneath me," Caceres said. "As for age, I was
21 when I was over there and it's hard when
you're in charge of people who are 25. But
you're in uniform and you have your rank
and that's what flies."
Caceres described some of her experiences overseas as "interesting," including
when she met Secretary of State Colin
Powell and Army General Tommy Franks
while at the embassy in Jordan. Other experiences she described as "miserable": "Peo
ple complain about going down the hall to
go to the bathroom here [at Whittier], but I
would have to walk a half a mile just to take
a shower or take a bus in order to have
access to running water."
While in action, Caceres received several letters from high schoolers across the
nation. According to Caceres, the high
school students were particularly interested in her thoughts on anti-war protesters.
"To answer [the letters] I would say, you
should be able to fight for the freedom of
speech and that I will never be ashamed or
disappointed that I did. [The soldiers] are at
such a low level in terms of what happens,
but we are happy to be there. As much as it
sucks over there—the heat, the water that's
so black you can't wash your clothes—
when we come home, very few people will
"say they regret being there," Caceres said.
"The [Iraqi] people were so happy to see us
and we had so much support that you can't
even realize."
Caceres said the letters she received
from friends and family "reminded me of
all the great things I was missing out on,
like [The Thalian Society] winning Spring
Sing and being nervous about graduation. I
wouldn' t have changed [serving in the war],
but I would have rather gone after graduation."
Caceres will resume attendance at
Whittier College after fall semester. She
plans to graduate with a degree in political
science by the end of the 2004 fall semester.
Caceres left active service due to a
medical emergency. While Caceres confirmed she was not shot or hurt, she declined to state the nature of the emergency.
PHOTCCCXJFnESYOFRAQUELGACERES
Senior Raquel Caceres while serving overseas during the war in Iraq.
Publication board appoints two
GenevieveRoman
QCAssistantNewsEditor
fHlll
HELENANQCVClCmCTOEDlfoR'
Publications Board Representative and Vice-Chair senior Michelle Vincent
and Publications Board Chair senior Toniesha Webb.
Senior Michelle Vincent, Publications
Board's newly elected vice-chair, ran the
meeting Friday, Oct. 10, during which the
board allocated a total of $55,787 to Whittier
College publications and filled two Member-
at-Large positions. The budget for this year
includes $13,892 for KPOET; $19,244 for
the Quaker Campus; and $22,651 for the
Acropolis.
Senior Toniesha Webb, who was elected
Chair last Friday, said, "I hope to help increase the dialogue on campus, and it's also
important to me to make sure that more
people know the role of Pub. Board and what
we do." And Vincent, who was also elected
Publications Board representative to COR
said, "Basically, it's my last year here and I
really wanted to be involved with the school
and help start new programs." Both of these
elections were approved at the COR meeting
that took place Monday, Oct. 13. There are
still two vacancies for Member-at-Large Positions on Publications Board.
The Acropolis will use about $19,000 of
its $22,651 on printing costs, according to
junior editor of the Acropolis Fallon Shelly,
and the remainder will go toward "printing,
film purchasing and development and new
See PUBLIC A TIONS BOARD, page 6
AOKP is A-OK
Remember that nightmare about the
medieval guys with swords and funny
hats gallavanting outside under dim
light? That wasn't a dream.
Campus Life, Page8
Reviews!
Didn't see it? We
did. And then we
wrote about it. You
can thank us later.
A&E,Page11
Women's Soccer
The women's soccer team is
ranked third in SCIAC after
losing to the University of
Redlands in overtime.
Sports, Page 16